Chapter 37

Melissa

It was the weekend and just Freya, Alan and I were left in the house. My father, after making Alan in charge of three of us, had left for a meeting, which I was sure would likely take the whole day, with his new wife. I sighed in distress, recalling how Ciara had smiled at me when she was about to leave and how I had ignored her like she hadn’t existed. I knew that the day was coming where my father would question the way I treated her and that when it came, I would need to have a reasonable answer for him. Alan had also noticed the way I treated his mother, but he had tried not to say anything even though I knew he was not pleased with it.

And my hunch was correct when he began to ignore me.

I had tried talking to him twice. Once, when Freya wanted to make snacks for three of us and had asked me to go see if he wanted some. Twice, when I needed a needle to stitch up a tear on my dress and had gone to his room to ask after the servants told me he was with the sewing kits.

He